Pickup trucks are built such that they can support and thus transport a great number of different objects and materials. This is possible because a pickup truck has a frame that supports a cab and that supports a bed. The beds of pickup trucks can be used to haul almost anything that is capable of fitting within the confines of the bed.
Some pickup truck owners optionally place caps over the beds of their pickup trucks. This protects the items being transported from being damaged by the weather or from being stolen. However, when cap is installed on a pickup truck the versatility of the pickup truck is decreased. This is because truck beds are typically from six to eight feet long and the caps may be a few feet in high. When a cap is installed, the cap and bed define a confined tunnel-like structure. This then causes a plurality of problems in loading and unloading items from the bed and cargo area of the pickup truck. For example, when truck the is loaded with heavy items such as wood, lumber, bricks, sacks of feed or grain, or even a lighter items, it is difficult to load due to the cap. One must literally crawl under the cap to load the truck. The same problem appears when the time comes to unload cargo, which can be quite difficult due to the presence of the cap. One must literally crawl under the cap to unload the truck. Thus, while caps are well suited for protecting cargo from the elements, they create a problem for users when placing and retrieving items that are stored under the cap.
Another problem associated with caps currently in use is that they are heavy and hard to remove and install. In addition, the extra weight of the cap decreases the overall load capacity of the pickup truck.
Another drawback associated with caps is that if heavy items are being hauled the user is not able to move these heavy items to the portion of the bed closest to the cab of the pickup truck. Thus, uneven loading of the truck occurs and the rear portion of the pickup truck becomes overloaded, and this in turn causes the front of the pickup truck to rise up. This can result in the pickup truck becoming unwieldy when driven and may cause the driver to lose control of the pickup truck and have an accident.
Thus, there is a need for a cap that eliminates these problems, that is easy to install, easy to use, that is inexpensive to fabricate and that can be adapted for use for virtually any pickup truck regardless of the make or model of the pickup truck.